Moving House

Shen Shixu decided to move into the residence Jiang Bin had given him. His little courtyard was rather far from the imperial palace, forcing him to get up an extra hour early every morning.

For Shen Shixu, who wanted to sleep in, this was sheer torture.

Getting up before dawn every day for morning court was irritating enough. If he could never get enough sleep on top of that, Shen Shixu felt he would go mad sooner or later.

When he returned to the little courtyard, Shen Shixu saw Shen Zexi giving Xiaoshi and Jin Bao instructions. As he drew closer, he heard what they were saying.

"Mm, we've moved almost everything from this courtyard over. I also wrote home and asked Father and Mother to send someone with the things Shixu and I often use.

"The new residence is just a little too big. With only a few of us living there, it'll feel too empty. Jin Bao, Xiaoshi, go find a servant broker tomorrow and buy some more manservants and maids.

"Find manservants who are quick and capable. As for the maids, remember not to choose any who are too pretty. Just find a few with ordinary looks.

"Once we have servants, we'll need a few cooks too. We can't eat out every day, and neither of you is any good at cooking.

"We'll also need some guards. I'll find those myself and pick a few who can fight.

"Now that our standard of living is improving, we need to see to our safety too. The Capital may be very safe, but we still need to take the proper precautions."

"Brother!"

Shen Shixu's voice interrupted Shen Zexi's planning. Seeing that he was back, Shen Zexi beckoned him over to sit beside him, then handed him the sheet of paper on the table to look at.

"You haven't seen the residence Jiang Bin gave you yet, have you? I went to have a look these past few days and drew up a plan. Take a look and pick a spot while you're at it. See where you'd like to live."

As Shen Zexi spoke, he pointed to a particular spot on the plan. "To be honest, I think this place is pretty good. It gets plenty of sun, and the courtyard is spacious. You can sleep in the main room and use the room beside it as your study.

"It also has several side rooms where your friends can stay when they visit, as well as a little kitchen.

"And it's close to Fu Gate. You can get out with just one turn, so it'll be convenient when you need to go out on business.

"Behind the courtyard are a bamboo grove and a lotus pond. The scenery is lovely too. You can enjoy the view whenever you have some free time."

From the way Shen Zexi praised the place, Shen Shixu could tell that he wanted him to live there. He agreed at once. "Since you think it's a good place for me, Brother, I'll live there!"

Shen Zexi nodded. "Since you're living there, I'll take the courtyard next to yours."

Though he called it the courtyard next door, the two were actually quite far apart. The bamboo grove and lotus pond lay between them, so getting from Shen Shixu's courtyard to Shen Zexi's required a long detour.

Shen Zexi wanted to put in a new path between them, but doing so would spoil the scenery.

For the sake of having a beautiful view to enjoy in the future, Shen Zexi thought, A long detour it is, then. I'll just count it as exercise.

Since Shen Shixu was moving, his disciples An Chengyu and Jiang Bin both came to help, bringing a few extra things along.

An Chengyu was too young to do much work himself, so he brought people with him and directed them instead.

"Datong, carry these boxes onto the cart. Be careful. These are Master's favorite books."

"Yes, young master!"

An exceptionally tall, powerfully built man picked up several boxes at once and walked steadily outside, leaving Jiang Bin gaping in shock.

Those boxes were full of books and hardly light. Each box alone weighed two or three jin, so three stacked together weighed seven or eight jin. With all the books inside, the three boxes had to weigh over a hundred jin.

Yet the manservant named Datong carried them with remarkable ease. His face did not redden, and he was not even out of breath, as though he were merely holding a few pieces of clothing.

Jiang Bin set down the jade vase he had wiped clean and approached An Chengyu to ask, "Senior Brother, that manservant of yours is pretty strong. He picked up something that heavy in one go and still walked so steadily.

"Where did you find him? I'd like to find someone like that too. My people are clever enough, but they're a little lacking when it comes to protecting me. They can't compare to that man of yours."

Hearing him ask about Datong, An Chengyu planted his hands on his hips and said proudly, "Datong isn't an ordinary manservant. He's been on the battlefield. He was an orphan abandoned in the woods, and my grandfather found him and brought him back to the army camp. He grew up there. Grandfather said he might have suffered from the cold before he found him, which is why he's a little slow.

"But he's very strong, so Grandfather kept him at his side as a soldier. He's killed enemies on the battlefield too.

"Later, Grandfather grew old, and with his injuries, he couldn't go into battle anymore. He had to return to the Capital, and Datong came back with him.

"Didn't I nearly go missing a little while ago? Grandfather was worried about my safety, so he had Datong stay with me to protect me.

"So, Junior Brother, you won't find anyone like Datong in the Capital."

After hearing An Chengyu's account, Jiang Bin felt a little disappointed, but he did not dwell on it. "I see. If I can't find anyone as capable as Datong, then forget it. It's not as though there'll be any serious danger in the Capital anyway. The people I have are enough."

The two fellow disciples moved on to other topics. An Chengyu quietly asked Jiang Bin, "Junior Brother, did you prepare a gift for Master's move today?"

Jiang Bin copied him and lowered his voice too. "Of course I did. I prepared a red coral ornament for Master's study. What about you, Senior Brother?"

After learning what Jiang Bin had prepared, An Chengyu breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that they might have chosen the same gift, but now he could relax. Their gifts were worlds apart.

"Hehe, after becoming his disciple, I found out that Master knew martial arts, so I prepared a short sword for him. He can keep it hidden in his wide sleeves and draw it when he needs it.

"Besides, weapons are what we have the most of at Duke An's Residence. We have other things too, but none of them are the very best. They don't feel worthy of Master."

Jiang Bin wholeheartedly agreed that Duke An's Residence had plenty of weapons. After all, it belonged to a military family spanning several generations, with a collection of many renowned weapons. He had heard that they had even more than General Lin's household, the empress's birth family.

Five years earlier, Old General Lin had even made a wager with Duke An, with the duke's Windshaker Sword as the stake. Come to think of it, the Windshaker Sword seemed to be a short sword.

"Young Senior Brother, the short sword you're giving him wouldn't happen to be the Windshaker Sword, would it?"

Hearing Jiang Bin name his gift, An Chengyu's eyes widened in shock. "How did you know?"

Jiang Bin had not expected it to really be the Windshaker Sword. "Because the Windshaker Sword is the only famous short sword your junior brother knows. I don't know any others."

An Chengyu nodded in understanding. Just then, Shen Shixu came over to call them. "Come on, everything's been moved over. I'll take you both out for a meal, and thank you for coming to help me move today."